In another lifetime, I owned a small café in Sausalito, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. It was on Caledonia Street, and called Caledonia Kitchen, and our turkey sandwich was hands-down the most popular item on the menu—a fact which I attribute to the homemade focaccia (click for the recipe) it was served on.

Sure, the sandwich included other yummy things like house-roasted turkey, roasted red peppers, mozzarella, mixed greens, and honey-Dijon. But the focaccia is what made it special.

It was fluffy on the inside. Finger-lickingly saturated with olive oil on the outside. And crunchy with salt.

We made a sheet pan or two every day. Some got cut into sticks to serve with salads, but most got cut into squares for sandwiches.

Fifteen years later, there are just a handful of café recipes I make regularly. Focaccia is definitely one of them. And my husband makes it even more often than I do (he made the bread in these photos).